In honor of his service and sacrifice, the Illinois General Assembly has designated the bridge on Illinois Route 19 that runs over the Des Plaines River as the Corporal Donald W. Bollman Bridge. Senator John G. Mulroe introduced the legislation to honor Corporal Bollman’s memory.

Corporal Bollman was a lifelong resident of Norridge. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1965. He served as a Marine Guard in California before beginning a tour in South Vietnam where he served with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, India Company.

Corporal Bollman was killed in action on March 1, 1967 when his company came under heavy attack from a North Vietnamese Army battalion. He was 23 at the time of his death. Corporal Bollman received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with a V for Valor for his heroic actions.

“It is important to remember the sacrifices of our servicemen and women who have given their lives in defense of our country,” Mulroe said. “It was a privilege to carry this legislation to honor Corporal Donald W. Bollman, a lifelong resident of Norridge, for his heroic actions in the Vietnam War.”

SPRINGFIELD – The Senate President and Senate Minority Leader will now be limited to five terms each under a rule change supported by State Senator John Mulroe (D-Chicago).

“This rule change sends a clear message to the people of Illinois that we are listening, and we in the Senate agree that Senate leadership should not have that much power for too long,” Mulroe said. “Changing leaders every 10 years will help bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to the Senate.”

The rule goes into effect immediately and does not require the governor’s signature.

“If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.” Mark Twain said this, and could just as well have been speaking about the Illinois media covering this week’s work by the General Assembly to negotiate with the governor on a budget.

This week, the Senate and the House both voted on measures to provide one-month funding for core state services to provide more time for negotiations for a full year budget. The governor’s response was that he would veto this offer as he has our full 2016 budget, with the exception of the education budget we sent him which he signed without one Republican voting for that bill.

The media’s coverage of these developments? That we failed to pass anything. This is totally inaccurate. The Senate passed a measure to shield Illinois' most vulnerable residents from the impact of Gov. Rauner's disastrous decision to veto most of the state budget the General Assembly sent to him last month.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator John G. Mulroe (D-10) passed two proposals out of the Senate Public Health Committee on Tuesday that seek to further protect children from the harmful effects of e-cigarettes.

The first proposal, House Bill 5868, states that electronic cigarettes must be sold behind the counter of convenience stores or in sealed display cases to keep them out of the curious hands of underage children.

“E-cigarettes contain nicotine, just like regular cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco,” said Mulroe, who is chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee. “These other products must be contained behind a counter or in a sealed case, so it stands to reason that electronic cigarettes should be contained in the same fashion.”

The second measure, House Bill 5689, would require the nicotine liquid marketed for refillable electronic cigarettes to be sold in child-proof containers.

“The number of calls to poison control centers across the nation has increased exponentially in the last few years due to accidental child consumption of e-cigarette’s nicotine liquid,” Mulroe said. “These liquids are often flavored and have an appetizing aroma, but consumption of an entire vial can cause nicotine poisoning.”

Both proposals passed out of the Senate Public Health Committee unanimously and will now move to the Senate for a full vote.